Dark Temptations
by Ealeo Solice
Summary: I wrote this intending it to only be a writing assignment for school, but I really enjoyed writing it, so I uploaded it to here. Ealeo is pronounced Ale-ii-oh. There may be some lose ends as you read, but I have tried my best to tie them up. Please post any comments or feedback on the story and include ways that you think I can make it better! Thank you and I hope you enjoy it.


Flare's eyes shot open just in time to see a dark red light whirling towards his exposed chest. Letting his instincts take over, he sprung out of bed. Channeling the Force to augment his jump's trajectory, the blood red blade of the lightsaber narrowly missed his midnight blue skin.

As soon as Flare landed, he dropped to the ground as the lightsaber, which had been thrown at him, came sailing back through the air into the assailant's hand. Knowing he had only a few seconds to act, he rolled onto his side and thrust his arm out toward his armor, which was hanging on the wall. Before he could locate his belt, the assassin brought his arms above his head, ready to deal the final blow.

"Th-there is no de-death, there is the f-force." Flare stammered, reciting the final line of the Jedi Code. He calmed his emotions, so that the Dark Jedi could not use them against him. He slowly shut his eyes, and braced himself for the end.

The Dark Jedi snarled, bringing the crimson red blade downward onto Flare's calm motionless form. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me," he spit out as he lurched toward Flare's security chest..

Flare lay on the ground, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. The blade of the lightsaber had passed right through his body, as though he wasn't there. He shook off his confusion as he knew he was lucky to be alive, and quickly located his belt. Not wanting to alert the assassin, who was digging through his shelves and drawers, Flare used the Force to try to pull his lightsaber to him from the hefty metal-padded belt on the wall. Within seconds, Flare's lightsaber was swiftly gliding through the air, directed by only his thoughts.

Flare leaped up, catching his lightsaber in midair. Igniting its impressive black-gold blade, he brought it down upon the assassin, whose mouth hung open in both terror and despair.

"It's not possible! You were dead!" the horrified Dark Jedi wailed as the lightsaber slashed through the tender flesh on his back.

"Do I look dead to you? Now, who hired you?" Flare asked as the assassin crumpled to the floor.

"I would never tell you!" the assailant screamed, knowing his time was short.

"You will tell me who hired you," Flare said, using the Force to persuade the mutilated murderer.

"I will tell you who hired me. The Sith by the name of Avalane…" The Dark Jedi muttered, as he collapsed in a heap.

"Avalane… why does that name sound so familiar…?" Flare questioned himself. "He heard a loud crash as his door burst open, followed by another Force user who wore the traditional robes of the Jedi.

"What in the blazes happened here?" the Jedi asked, surveying the scene.

"Ealeo, calm down," Flare muttered, still worn out from the fight. "To begin with, I was almost assassinated."

"What?" Ealeo implored, obviously confused. "Why didn't you call for help?"

"If I had time, I would have, considering I woke up with this flying toward my body," Flare said, nudging the assassin's weapon. "He said he was hired by some Sith named 'Avalane'... recognize the name?"

"I've heard it before, although I can't recall where…" Ealeo muttered, trying to place where he had heard the name.

"Well, I'm not just going to stand here. Call Marisol on her holocommunicator and let her know what happened. I'm going to find this 'Avalane', and when I do, that Sith is going to have a lot of explaining to do," Flare announced while he began to put on his heavy black, orange, and blue armor. Sliding the last piece on, he dashed out of the room, determined to find the employer of the assassin.

Flare sprinted past the Merchant Ward of the Outpost, ignoring the constant chatter of the customers and the loud shouts of the auctioneers. Just outside of the Outpost's Medcenter, he sighed in relief as he finally found who he had been searching for.

The Speeder Vendor, Dasharr Färcry, shouted a greeting as Flare trudged toward him, still groggy from the rude awakening. "What can I do for you today Flare? Haven't seen you in weeks!" The merchant declared, showing his obvious relief at Flare's wellbeing.

"I'm actually here on business today," Flare replied, knowing he wouldn't be able to rent a speeder without explaining his intent to his old friend. "I woke up with a lightsaber flying toward me. I was able to persuade him to tell me who hired him, and now I'm off to find the assassin's boss. I need a speeder to do so, and we both know you've sold the best speeders around for years."

"I see…" Dash muttered, deep in thought. "But how would you find this person?" He inquired, appearing trouble by this new obstacle.

"I have no doubt that the Force shall guide me." Flare replied slowly, knowing that he was only acting on instinct, not on wisdom.

"If you're sure." Dasharr remarked. "Since I've known you for so long, and since you rent my speeders whenever you leave the base for your fieldwork, I'll let you borrow one, free of charge. How about this black and gold one?" He announced, a wide grin appearing on his rugged face.

"Thank you very much Dash, I owe you one!" Flare exclaimed, overwhelmed by the generosity of his friend. "This one suits me nicely. It matches my lightsaber perfectly." He finished, wanting to begin his search.

"Travel safely, and I hope to see you return soon." Dasharr added, knowing his friend tended to be reckless.

"Hope your business continues to do well while I'm away." Flare commented, igniting the engine. "See you soon!" He yelled over the roar of the engine as he darted away, leaving Dasharr far behind.

Gliding out of Republic Territory, Flare quickly came upon a village in which resided a community of Lehon's native species, the Rakata. Although they had highly advanced technology and machinery, they chose to live in towns made of wood and bamboo, all intricately put together to form amazing building structures.

Once he had passed through the town, Flare saw an orange light in the distance rapidly approaching. He slowed his speeder to a halt about a mile outside the settlement as the orange blur was now very close. He instinctively hit the ground once he saw that the object was not stopping. All of a sudden he heard someone shout a string of curse words, although he could see no one. He walked around, searching for the mysterious person. As soon as he moved, the orange light returned, narrowly missing Flare, who immediately drew his lightsaber.

"Ahahahah, you think you're very resourceful, now don't you Jedi filth," cackled a young feminine voice.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through Flare's body, and he could smell burning flesh as he stumbled to the ground. "Who… are… you…?" Flare asked, his body writhing in agony.

"Oh, you should know by now. A pity your precious 'Order' didn't teach you how to defend yourself against lightning. This was the easiest fight I've had since my training on Korriban!" The voice shouted in mockery. Instantly, a teenage girl, who looked to be no more than eighteen, materialized in front of Flare. "What's the matter? Can't take a shock?" She jeered.

"I'm not afraid of you Avalane. Your assassin went down easily, so I suspect you shouldn't be much different." Flare spit out, mustering up his courage.

"Oh, you think so, do you? I think my lightning has something to say about that!" She shouted in glee, shooting another round of lightning into Flare, who screamed out in agony. His was body now mutilated from the unnatural high voltage just sent throughout him. "Want it to stop? Just submit to me, then. If the Jedi are 'oh so powerful', then why can a mere Sith Acolyte like myself take you down with a move almost all Sith are taught from the beginning? Why do you think we were able to infiltrate your Command Post, and almost successfully assassinate one of the Order's most powerful and promising Jedi? It's obvious that the Light Side is no match for the true powers of the Sith."

"If I submit…," Flare paused, screaming out due to the immense amount of pain caused by his wounds, "Will you let my friends live?" He finished, his voice full of desperation.

"If they submit to me as well, gladly. Let me see, was it that one rather handsome human, about my age I'd say… Ealeo was it?" Avalane smirked.

"No! You will stay away from my friends!" Flare shouted, channeling his anger through the Force to choke Avalane.

"Good! Use your anger! Ah yes, you will be one of the finest Sith we have seen in years. Already so much contained hatred and anger. I'm sure your friends will make nice slaves" Avalane said, trying to provoke Flare.

"No!" Flare screamed out. He lept into the air and kicked Avalane to the ground. He pulled his lightsaber to his hand, ignited the blade, and he began to bring it down.

"Flare! Stop! Don't you see? She's trying to turn you!" yelled Marisol, Flare's other Jedi friend who had just arrived on-scene along with Ealeo. Her lustrous sleek brown hair dropped to her broad shoulders as she ripped off her helmet. Her unique cyan eyes met Flare's with a pleading gaze.

Just as Flare was turning toward his speeder, he heard Avalane grunt. "Ah, I guess I was wrong," Avalane smirked, "Maybe they won't be useful after all!" She cackled, sending her orange blade flying toward Ealeo, who was too slow to react.

"No!" Marisol shouted, diving in front of Ealeo just as the blade was about to pierce his robes. Her lifeless form tumbled to the cold ground, and Flare's anger doubled.

Flare flipped over to her body, grabbed her Double-Bladed lightsaber as well as Ealeo's and soared through the air to Avalane, who was enjoying watching his rage. Only too late did she realize what he planned to do. He ignited both of the Double-Bladed lightsabers, and threw them at Avalane.

"Why you little…!" Avalane screamed, as the lightsabers beheaded her and cut her in half.

"Flare! Stop it! Let go of your anger!" Ealeo said, distressed by his friend's sudden anger.

Flare looked over at him with a sudden hatred, and picked up his own saber. "It's your fault she's dead!" He yelled. "If you weren't so stupid and slow, she would still be here!" Flare flew at Ealeo, impaling the unsuspecting Jedi with his black-gold energy blade. "You two would have been safe, had you stayed away. Now, you ended up killing both Marisol and yourself. I couldn't kill you without letting you know that." He whispered into Ealeo's ear. Ealeo grunted in disbelief, and stumbled to the ground. He pulled out his holocommunicator, and sent a message to the Republic Outpost relaying what had just occurred, and he too then dropped to the ground.

"There is no death, there is the Force," Ealeo said, breathing his final breath.

Flare surveyed the scene, his anger coursing through him as though he were a volcano, and his rage the lava. Not only had he just exacted his revenge on the Sith who had cleverly attempted to kill him, he also had murdered his two best friends. They had only been trying to help him. He trudged over the rocky soil until he reached his speeder, not wanting to even glance at the mutilated corpses of the Jedi that had once been with him through thick and thin.

As Flare mounted the luxurious black and gold speeder, he heard a cough behind him. Rolling off the speeder and onto the hard, gritty dirt, his eyes shot up. He expected to see another assassin coming at him, lightsaber drawn. Instead, his gaze fell upon the cold, empty stare of Marisolice, whom he had believed to be dead. Dumbfounded, he stumbled backward, trying to rapidly locate his speeder which had been close behind him.

Marisolice's menacing glare quickly transformed into one of her signature dazzling smiles. "You actually thought me dead." Marisol chuckled. "Did you honestly believe I would be so unprepared to the point that I couldn't even conjure a simple illusion?" She questioned, shaking her head in disbelief at Flare, who was still clueless as to what had just occurred. "Do you really think Ealeo would have moved so slowly had he truly been here with us. I advised him to stay back at headquarters, as I knew Sith are unpredictable. How do you think that lightsaber passed right through you when you were fighting that assassin earlier? I had sensed the battle and made you look defeated, which gained you the upper hand in the battle. Illusions can be very powerful. " She explained, stating it as though it had been obvious.

"The lightsaber slashed you in the chest! I saw you die!" Flare cried out, utterly confused.

"You of all people should know that I never leave home without my armor." She giggled as Flare's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "I think you might need to go to some anger management classes. If you learned one thing today, it's that revenge is never the option. Now, let's go back to base. I think Ealeo might have some things to say to you."


End file.
